to think Chinese Lanterns should be banned

[Bimbledorf]

dangerous

As beautiful as they are, Chinese Lanterns are the cause of many fires every year; today they are the cause of the above... Why are we still allowed to use them?

[McNewPants2013]

If you learn something is dangerous you have to stop doing it.. Whatever it signifies.

I agree with this statement.

[inabeautifulplace]

Surely I'm not the only person thinking "a recycling plant with thousands of tonnes of flammable material on site. How the actual fuck can they not have better preventative measures in place"

Actually, it turns out I'm not. The fire chief has called a meeting with the plant operators, since this is the 15th incident this year! Wonder what caused the other 14.

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

My friends' house burnt to the ground in less than an hour when one caught in the thatch. They got the children out but that was it. If someone hadn't been up extra packing they would all have been asleep.

They are so pretty but blow bubbles, plant a rose or a tree or a butterfly garden.

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

We have friends who actually considered getting rid of their thatched roof and having tiles instead as they live in fear of lanterns setting them and their three young children on fire.

Perhaps there should be another thread suggesting other meaningful ways of remembering a loved one, or celebrating a major event.

[EduCated]

Agree with NorthernLurker, as ever.

[Sallyingforth]

The government response is pathetic.

"The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was raising awareness of the risks of sky lanterns and looking to see what could be done to improve fire safety."

What good will 'raising awareness' do once they are lit and released?

These dangerous devices should be banned. If Germany and other countries can do it so can we.

[Crumbledwalnuts]

Yes definitely agree, ban them. CAn't believe they aren't banned already.

[AmyFarrahFowlerCooper]

I'm surprised at some of the comments here about not getting it and saying that littering as an act of remembrance is beyond them. It doesn't take much brain power to realise why setting these lanterns free into the sky gives people comfort. It might not give the people who made those comments comfort, but surely they aren't so stupid that they can't understand that people grieve in different ways and take comfort in different things. Its really not that hard to get.

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

AmyFarrah yes, people do take comfort in different ways, but surely they wouldn't want to endanger anyone else in the process if they realised the dangers? The Chinese lanterns haven't been around for that long, or so easily available, in Britain. Presumably people managed without them before. I don't mean that at all unkindly, but there are other ways of celebrating or remembering.

LunaticFringe well, you've just suggested another way yourself! It sounds lovely and just as meaningful. I heard of a child who had a twin brother who died at birth. He always went to the grave on their birthday and shouted Happy Birthday at his brother. Another family I know have a quiet meal together and listen to music which was played at the funeral of one of the children.

This thread is going to get too contentious.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

Ban the bloody things.

[edam]

A couple of years ago I had to look into this for work. At that time, the fire service wouldn't say definitively that they were unsafe, nor the HSE, nor government statisticians - there were no records of them causing serious accidents. I was a bit sceptical because releasing a naked flame into the sky to come down heaven knows where seemed inherently dangerous... now it turns out it was indeed dangerous and has caused fires.

People who have released them to commemorate loved ones were clearly acting out of the best motives, but now we can see it really is dangerous. So we should stop doing it. And balloon releases too.

[AmyFarrahFowlerCooper]

middle, I'm sure that is true. I was just pointing out to the couple of ignorant people on here that its not hard to "get" why people use them to help them with their grief. For example, I think they should be banned as they are dangerous, but I still "get" why people want to use them. It would take a stupid person not to understand why people use them for comfort was my point.

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

All that burning plastic at the recycling plant (on the news again now), no mention of the dioxins etc produced by burning plastic in open fires! Incredibly toxic, I wonder what sort of measures the plant had in place to reduce the risk of fire spreading (fire walls etc), as if seems to have burnt right through the whole site which looks like its acres in size, really huge.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

I bet locals are nodding and saying I told you so!

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

Amy Farrah and Lunatic Fringe thank you for your replies

Interesting to hear on the radio this morning that Spain have banned lanterns.

[Eyesunderarock]

This sort of stuff doesn't help with raising awareness of the dangers either:

Decades ago, we remembered the death of a fellow student by floating little paper boats with birthday candles on the river Cherwell. It helped a lot of us, I can see the appeal.

[LePetitPrince]

I was at a child's party (no joke) when these were released and my DH and I spent the night wondering how they were extinguished. We wondered if they go out at a certain altitude.. This was in a built-up area too.

Planting a rose bush gets my vote too but possibly not as obvious as a memorial. Condolences to all who are suffering bereavement.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

Where does helium come from then?

Off to Google.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

Paper boats on a quiet river sounds beautiful. The main advantage there is that if they go wrong they'll quickly put themselves out.

[Latara]

YANBU. One floated down in front of my Mum's car when she was driving and nearly made her crash.

Also people set light to them on the beach near me and the clifftop caught fire (the gorse is very flammable).

[Eyesunderarock]

Choose the right rose and it will flower from late May until October with a lovely scent. They also have individual names, come in almost every colour and last for years.
So roses make sense to me.

[BlessedDespair]

I don't think they should be banned but I do think that the solar powered ones should be the only ones available so you couldn't send them flying off to land in my horses field :)